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Palm Beach lot with Trump history sells for $37 million

Nearest the house at the top of the photo, a vacant lot of about 2 acres at 535 N. County Road in Palm Beach has sold for a recorded $37 million. It is part of the 6.26-acre property President Donald Trump sold in 2008 to a Russian billionaire, who subdivided it into three lots last year. Photo courtesy Kristi Foster

A vacant lot at 535 N. County Road, which just sold for $37 million, can be seen through the left set of gates that were part of the demolished mansion sold by President Donald Trump to Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev in 2008. Darrell Hofheinz / Daily News

A vacant lot at 535 N. County Road, which just sold for $37 million, can be seen through the left set ... read more

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A Boca Raton-based limited liability company linked to luxury homebuilder Mark Pulte bought the lot, according to the address of the buyer listed on the deed. Pulte’s Mark Timothy Inc. has developed on speculation and sold luxury mansions in Palm Beach, including a lakefront house that changed hands in April for $31.59 million on Billionaires Row on the South End.

Broker Lawrence Moens of Lawrence A. Moens Associates, who had the listing for the vacant lot that just sold, couldn’t be reached for comment. But his office confirmed that he handled both sides of the sale. He has also represented Pulte in other deals.

A similarly sized vacant parcel immediately south of the lot that just sold was listed for sale at $38.9 million in January. But the listing was withdrawn in early August from the Palm Beach Board of Realtors Multiple Listing Service, records show.

At the time Rybolovlev bought it, the 6.26-acre estate was home to a mansion — since demolished — that Trump had renovated. Trump sold it to Rybolovlev for a price the president always has maintained was $100 million, although courthouse documents recorded the deal at $5 million less. The sale set a U.S. residential record at the time and still stands as Palm Beach’s largest-ever single seller/single buyer deal.

The mansion was razed last year and the property subdivided into three lots, the largest of which sold in November at 515 N. County Road for a recorded $34.34 million. The buyer was a trust, and the deal was orchestrated by Moens. Other than West Palm Beach real estate attorney Maura Ziska, no one has been publicly linked to the trust nor has any word surfaced on what might be built there.

The Daily News in spring 2016 reported that Trump’s record-setting mansion sale had turned out to be a tear-down. Crews authorized by Rybolovlev’s ownership company subsequently demolished the 66,000-square-foot house and its outbuildings. In all, the total living space was about 80,000 square feet. The property was subdivided last year.

Trump bought the estate for $41.4 million in 2004 from the late nursing-home magnate Abe Gosman in a court-ordered bankruptcy auction. Rybolovlev never lived there and has described the property as an investment. When he bought it, he was married to Elena Rybolovlev, but the couple’s divorce ended with a stratospheric settlement.

Forbes estimates Dmitry Rybolovelv’s net worth to be $7.4 billion.

This year, Trump’s 2008 sale became the subject of intense media attention because of its Russian connection, fueled by accusations that Russia tried to influence the outcome of last fall’s presidential election. The controversy has also raised questions about any dealings among Russian entities and Trump, his family, campaign aides and business associates.

Trump has maintained the Palm Beach transaction was strictly a business deal and that he never met Rybolovlev. Rybolovlev, in turn, also has said he hasn’t met Trump and described the purchase as nothing more than a real estate investment.

Pulte’s company also has built oceanfront and waterfront homes in Delray Beach, Gulf Stream, Manalapan and Boca Raton. Pulte also has been a principal of Pulte Capital Partners, a strategic investment firm focused on investing in building-products businesses, according to an online résumé.

A native of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., Pulte is president and CEO of Mark Timothy Inc. His father, William J. Pulte, founded Michigan-based Pulte Homes, today PulteGroup of Atlanta.

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